You know today folks say that for us that only got an eight grade education, it merely meant we had no education at all.  I say that isn’t so.   For most parts us who had only an eighth grade education from way back when that it  would stand up to most of those being taught in todays schools and then some.  Take a look and when you see an old timer walking down the street, maybe just maybe, you might have a different view on his learnings of years past.

8th Grade Final Exam:
– 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of ‘lie,”play,’ and ‘run.’
5. Define case; illustrate each case..
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 – 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6..00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8.. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret ‘u.’ (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final ‘e.’ Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last..
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks
and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U..S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying “he only had an 8th grade education” a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?!

                                      NO, I don’t have the answers!

A touch of humor for a lovely Saturday. KInda’ puts a tear in ones eye.

Susie Lee done fell in love;
She planned to marry Joe.
She was so happy ’bout it all
She told her Pappy so.

Pappy told her, “Susie gal,
You’ll have to find another.
I’d just as soon yo’ Ma don’t know,
But Joe is yo’ half brother.”

So Susie put aside her Joe
And planned to marry Will.
But after telling Pappy this,
He said, “There’s trouble still…

You cain’t marry Will, my gal,
And please don’t tell your Mother,
But Will and Joe and several mo’
I know is yo’ half brother.”

But Mama knew and said, “My child,
Just do what makes you happy.
Marry Will or marry Joe,
You ain’t no kin to Pappy!”

My Sister Barb sent me this thought I would share as it sure says it all let me tell ya.

Click Picture To Enlarge.

Click Picture To Enlarge.   Makes Sense To Me.
Wilfrid Laurier ideas on Immigrants and being a Canadian in 1907.

‘In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith
becomes a Canadian and assimilates himself to us,
he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else,
for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed,
or birthplace, or origin..
But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet a Canadian, and nothing but a Canadian…
There can be no divided allegiance here.
Any man who says he is a Canadian, but something else also, isn’t a Canadian at all.
We have room for but one flag, the Canadian flag…
And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the Canadian people.’
Wilfrid Laurier 1907

Thought I would let you see a few hunters that got their prey for the year. Strange lookin’ folks driving that truck, but over the years I have come to the conclusion not to question what I see. Click Picture To Enlarge for better viewing.

Bit of humour for a Monday Morning

After being married for 40 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said ……. “Forty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV, but I got to sleep every night with a hot 23-year-old girl.  Now … I have a $500,000.00 home , a $35,000.00 car, a nice big bed and a large screen TV, but I’m sleeping with a 63-year-old woman.  It seems to me that you’re not holding up your side of things.”

Aren’t older women great? They really know how to solve an old guy’s problems.

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.
The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today.  Your generation did not care enough to save our environment.”
He was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.  So they really were recycled.
But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw-away kind.  We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.   

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us.   

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. 

Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.  We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then. 

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. 

We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. 

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.  And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

Tidbit for today.    The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Been awhile since I been on here just lot going on this summer>  But doing ok.  Here is a few tips on how you can make extra good use of that Bounce Softer for your dryer.

1. It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them. It also repels mice.

2. Spread sheets around foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.

3. It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don’t get opened too often.

4. It repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.

5. Eliminate static electricity from your television (or computer) screen.

6. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling..

7. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.

8. To freshen the air in your home – Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.

9. Put Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.

10. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.

11. Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.

12. To freshen the air in your car – Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.

13. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan..

14. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.

15.. Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.

16. Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds.. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.

17. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.

18. Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.

19. Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight.

20. Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees away.

21. Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them. It will keep them smelling fresh.

22. Wet a Bounce sheet, hose down your car, and wipe love bugs off easily with the wet Bounce.

Walk with me by the water, worth the read…

A BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE ABOUT GROWING OLDER:

Oh Dam!!!!!

I forgot the words….

Well for years folks have been striving how to learn to sharpen their butcher knives or carving knives with out taking them into a professional to get it done.  So that got me to thinking,  here is a short video for you to watch, which will amaze you of just how easy it is to get a good edge on your knives.  So….get yourself an old coffee cup.  Make sure it is porcelain and rough at the bottom not glazed over .  Try your knife first on a piece of paper making sure you see that it is dull.  Now do as the video shows and, hey that’s it.  Pretty amazing really.  No more dull knives.

Click Link Below To Watch

http://www.dump.com/2010/12/08/how-to-sharpen-your-knife-with-a-cup-video/

My Sister Barb in Saskatchewan sent me this bit of humor.  As you can tell, she is  a chip off the old block. Enjoy.

‘Hello, is this the Police Office?’
‘Yes. What can I do for you?’
‘I’m calling to report ’bout my neighbour Jack Murphy…He’s hidin’ marijuana inside his firewood! Don’t quite know how he gets it inside them logs, but he’s hidin’ it there..’
‘Thank you very much for the call, sir.’
The next day, twelve RCMP Officers descend on Jack’s house. They search the shed where the firewood is kept.
Using axes, they bust open every piece of wood, but find no marijuana.
They sneer at Jack and leave.
Shortly after, the phone rings at Jack’s house.
‘Hey, Jack! This here’s Floyd….Did the Police come?’
‘Yeah!’
‘Did they chop your firewood?’
‘Yep!’
‘Happy Birthday, buddy!’

Saskatchewan people know how to Git ‘er Done!

My Sister sent me this and I got to tell ya, well take a look, I think you will get what it is trying to portrait to ya.

Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1970 – Crowd gathers. Johnny wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best mates for life.

2010 – Police called, arrests Johnny and Mark.. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Mark started it. Both children go to anger management programs for 3 months. School board hold meeting to implement bullying prevention programs

Scenario:
Robbie won’t Keep still in class, disrupts other students.

1970 – Robbie sent to office and given 6 of the best by the Headmaster. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2010 – Robbie given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. Robbie’s parents get fortnightly disability payments and School gets extra funding from state because Robbie has a disability.

Scenario :
Billy breaks a window in his neighbour’s car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1970 – Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

20010 – Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Government psychologist tells Billy’s sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison.

Scenario :
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1970 – Mark gets glass of water from Teacher to take aspirin with.

2010 – Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario :
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from Guy Fawkes, puts them in a model airfix paint bottle, blows up an ant’s nest.

1970 – Ants die.

2010- Police, Armed Forces,  & Anti-terrorism Squad called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, MI5 investigate parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated. Johnny’s Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario :
Johnny falls while running during break and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary . Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1970 – In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2010 – Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

Here is something for you to think on

This year we will experience 4 unusual dates…. 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11,
> > 11/11/11 ………
> >
> > NOW go figure this out…. take the last 2 digits of the year you were born
> > plus the age you will be this year and it WILL EQUAL …. 111
> > NO MATTER HOW U DO IT …….. ITS 111…..
> >

A guy is 84 years old and loves to fish.
He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say,
‘Pick me up.’
He looked around and couldn’t see anyone.
He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again,
‘Pick me up.’
He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog.
The man said, ‘Are you talking to me?’
The frog said, ‘Yes, I’m talking to you.’
Pick me up then, kiss me and I’ll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen.
I’ll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because I will be your bride!’
The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front pocket.
The frog said, ‘What, are you nuts? Didn’t you hear what I said? I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride.’
He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said,
‘Nah, at my age I’d rather have a talking frog.’

With age comes wisdom.

Well how you all doing today?? For myself other than clean the driveway with the old snow blower, an going for an hour walk, my day has been quite  mild.  On saying that I often wonder how many folks today just take a day and do nothing.  Nothing other than getting some fresh air and a touch of exercise.  I bet not to many, as for most folks today when taking a day off  usually just sit around and watch some TV, play on the net or have a snooze.  Now don’t get me wrong, as there is nothing wrong with a snooze now and then, as I do enjoy them once in awhile, especially after lunch.  Even five minutes seems to give me the boost I need to make it through the rest of the day.  Well there again I shouldn’t say I don’t need any excuse to make it through a  day, as I enjoy every day that happens by.  I would have to say I enjoy the daytime hours as much as I do the night time hours, as bed to me looks as good as getting up in the mornings.  So there you go, a post about nothing, but is it nothing, could be, might be, hmm……………..maybe I will lay down and check my eyelids for leaks and give it some thought.

Well went to the meat store the other day on our way to town and picked up a large package of suet.   Most meat stores carry it if one asks and have to say the birds just love it.  I hang it on a big old pine just outside our front door and can sit and watch them having a great old time while I have a tea now and then.  Simple things these days seem to make my day it seems, which in reality is a good thing.  All kinds of birds come to it, the huge Pileated  woodpeckers, Downy and the good old Hairy Woodpecker.  They are all quite different once you get to looking at them especially the Pileated LOL as it is five times the size.  When that old feller gets to knocking on trees around our place it sounds like a jack hammer.  Kind of figure he must have a sore head at the end of each day.  Lots of others come also,  Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Black Birds and Sparrows.  Also get some others but haven’t looked them up in my book as of yet. Wife knows more than I do as she is always spotting new ones.  Breaks up ones day you  might say watching them.  Well guess go got some shop work to do, so will say hello a bit later.

Tech’s Poem for those Linux folks like me and my son Karl.

Twas the night before Christmas
And all round the house
the only things stirring
Were me and my mouse.

I was working with windows
It was making me fractious,
And I knew that quite soon
I would have to take actions.

It slowed and it stuttered
And finally froze
Then showed a blue screen at the end of my nose,
My anger was rising and thoughts turned quite bad,
“PC through the window, was one that I had”

But my genetics and lineage ensured my calm;
And decided, the computer should come to no harm.
The O/S is to blame, and will never improve
I was conned by Bill Gates and this upgraded move.

Then I had an idea as I sat in my muse,
I have other options like Mandrake or Suse;
Or Debian, Red Hat, or Fedora Core,
PClinux, Ubuntu and so many more..

So I set to downloading a distro named Suse;
And burned a CD for this data to use,
It all went so smoothly,”I waited for hitches”,
As my mind was attuned to the Microsoft glitches!

I entered the disc in my CD Rom drive
And sat back, and watched my PC come alive,
As it smoothly installed the O/S Suse 10
I know I will never use windows again.

So to all you users of Microsoft software,
With its viruses, Trojans, and various Malware,
Blue screens, and freezes, and drivers to find,
Registry problems that muddle the mind
Take a leaf out of my book, “give Linux a try”,
Its all free of charge, with no programs to buy,
With so many versions of this excellent kernel
The choices you have are almost eternal

So download a distro that won’t cost a penny,
The flavours of linux are varied and many
You’ll find one to suit, I’m sure of this;
And using your PC, will once more be bliss.

Merry Christmas Linux Click Picture To Enlarge.

Well been awhile since I have been on here. Not that I didn’t want to just some things has come up that has kept me away.  Coping with them now and will try and say hello more often/  Thought this might get a laugh out of you this morning .  Did me, my son Karl sent it to me.  Click Picture below to enlarge.